In its ten years of service to the American people, the Jefferson
School has had more than 100,000 enrollments—adult workers in shop and office,
housewives, students and professionals.

The Jefferson School is a school for all working people, Negro
and white. It is dedicated to meeting their needs and advancing their interests.
It is open to everyone, regardless of color or nationality, creed or political
belief—no matter how much or how little their previous schooling.

The Jefferson School is a Marxist school. It teaches Marxism
as the philosophy and social science of the working class. It emphasizes the
distinctive features of the development of the United States, its democratic
traditions, its cultural heritage, and the militant history of the American
working class and the Negro people.

It is the aim of the Jefferson School to encourage students
to think for themselves and to reach their own reasoned conclusions.

HOW TO STUDYA Guide for Students

1. MARXISM MUST BE STUDIED

"Socialism, having become a science,
must be pursued as a science, that is,
it must be studied."
FREDERICK
ENGELS

NO ONE emphasizes and insists on study as do Marxists. Why
is this so?

Only Marxists insist that the social questions we face—poverty
and wealth, exploitation and profits, oppression and liberation, war and peace—can
be approached in a scientific way, that they can be understood and therefore
can be solved.

Marxism is the science of society. First developed by Marx
and Engels a hundred years ago, it has been advanced by Lenin, Stalin and other
working class leaders throughout the world.

The capitalist rulers of our country deny that there can be
a science of society. They deny such a science because they fear it. They know
that it exposes their brutal robbery and exploitation of the people, that it
stands in the way of their drive for war and profits. They know, moreover, that
a scientific view of social development foretells their own passing from the
scene and the rising of a new society run not for profit, but for the welfare
of all working people.

Marxism is the science of the working class. It gives workers
and their allies clarity and understanding in their fight for peace, democracy
and a decent life. It helps them to. see where they are going. That is why the
need to master Marxism is crucial for all advanced workers and progressives.

2. MARXISM CAN BE MASTERED

ONE BIG DIFFICULTY standing in the way of study is the notion
that theory is only for the select few, that Marxism is too difficult to be
mastered by the average person.

This notion is completely false. Stalin said, "It is a
mistake to think that only a narrow circle of people can master theory. Marxist
theory can be mastered by anybody. . . . To master the theory of Marxism one
has only to desire to do so and to display persistence and firmness of will
in the achievement of this aim." It has been mastered by millions of people
the world over. You, too, can do it.

To master Marxism you need three things: (1) a firm resolve
to do so; (2) the habit of study; (3) certain methods of study. The following
pages can help you to form the habit of study and to acquire effective methods.
But the firm resolve must come from you.

The first step after you have resolved to master Marxism is
to be convinced that you can do so. The capitalist class does not want
you to gain this self-confidence. They have a saying which they like to have
repeated widely by workers: "You can’t teach an old dog new tricks."
The truth is that adults, and especially workers, have the basis for learning
things that the child cannot begin to learn.

You must, therefore, get rid of the idea that "I’m too
old to learn." There are perhaps some things which children can learn more
readily than adults; but in many respects adults have the advantage. They have
had experience of life to bring to bear on what they are learning. They can
connect what they read or hear in class with what they have themselves experienced,
in a way that is impossible for children and many young people. Especially is
this so with Marxism, the social science, the most vital of all the sciences
and the most intimately connected with our daily lives. Workers, especially,
have a solid basis of experience in struggle and therefore have an advantage
in the study of Marxism.

The people have a saying of their own: "Never too old
to learn."

3. FORM THE HABIT OF STUDY

THE ADULT’S CHIEF DIFFICULTY isnot that his capacity
for learning is less, but that he has to form again, or perhaps for the first
time, the habit of study; and it is this that he finds so hard. The temptation
is to study irregularly, to attend a few classes, to read a few books and pamphlets,
but with no system and no sustained and continuous effort.

The biggest hurdle for the adult is to form again the habit
of study.

Therefore, if you are to carry through your resolve to master
Marxism, you must make a determined effort to form the habit of regular study.
Habit is a matter.of constant repetition. Thus to form the habit of study you
must set aside a definite rime each day or week. If you carry out this study
schedule week after week, you will be surprised how quickly study will become
so habitual that itwill be an essential part of your routine life.

To study regularly you will have to reorganize your activities
to fit in a regular study period, either one night a week or twenty minutes
to half an hour a day. If you are not accustomed to study, do not attempt too
much at first. Start with a short period and gradually extend it as you get
more accustomed to the work and as the habit becomes more firmly established.
A common mistake is to try to do too much at first, to force one’s nose on the
grindstone too hard and too long. The result is discouragement and eventual
abandonment of the project entirely.

Forming the habit of study means repetition, but it also means
starting slowly, and only gradually expanding the amount of time and energy
spent.

The habit of study is the only way to master Marxist theory.
There is no short-cut. It is the way Marxists for a hundred years and throughout
the world have mastered it. The habit Ieads from reading a page or so at a sitting
to a chapter or more. In this way you can master the great classics of Marxism
and the current indispensable books, pamphlets and periodicals.

4. WHERE TO STUDY

MANY PEOPLEthink that the best way to read a book is
to sit back in a comfortable chair and just let the words soak in. This might
hold good for a light novel, but it won’t take you far in the study of Marxism.
The successful reader is an active reader: He reads with a pencil in his hand
and a notebook or paper by his side.

It has been found that the best place to study is at a table
or desk, sitting in a straight-back chair. There should be a light over your
left shoulder or at the left side of the table. Of course the closer you can
come to privacy and quiet the better. For most people the radio should at least
not be blaring. Late evening or early morning have certain obvious advantages
in meeting these conditions for study.

As you establish the habit of study other members of your family
will very likely come to respect your concentration and may themselves follow
your lead.

5. USE OF THE DICTIONARY

AS AN AID TO STUDY you will need a good standard dictionary.
Keep it at hand when reading and consult it for the meaning of words which are
unfamiliar.

Words are the means of thinking, speaking, reading and writing.
They belong to the people, not to the capitalist class. Therefore you must,
in the process of learning, acquire an ever increasing knowledge of words. This
can only be done by persistently looking up the "new" words you come
across..

The.ruling class does all it can to keep our vocabulary limited
and thereby limit our ability to read and understand, to think and learn. We
must defeat this attempt and master language so that we can acquire the knowledge
which will make us more effective in the class struggle.

6. PROCEDURE IN READING

TO STUDY does not mean simply to read through an assignment
as rapidly as possible. It means digging out the meaning and wrestling with
it, making it your own, applying it to your own experience and to the problems
you face. Books are the tools for mastering theory. You must learn to use them
skillfully.

Experience shows that the best plan is to read the assignment
through rapidly from beginning to end to grasp the general outlines of the subject.
Then turn back for a second, more thorough reading, section by section and page
by page.

Don’t spend too much time trying to figure things out at the
first reading. If you find it hard to understand certain passages, don’t hesitate,
go straight ahead. Very often what comes later helps to clear up what comes
first. The second reading is the time to grapple with the subject in real earnest.
Don’t pass over anything which is not clear at this stage. If the dictionary
and your own experience can’t help you solve the problem, talk it over with
more experienced friends, or raise it with your teacher either in class or afterward.

A book is a tool. Don’t be afraid to use it, mark it
up, make it yours—providing of course that it is yours and is not a library
book. You should try to own the books you are studying so that you will be free
to use them fully as tools. There will be occasions, especially for students
in more advanced courses, to use library books. In that case it is clear that
they must not be marked up.

On the first reading itis best not to use a pencil.
But on the second reading use your pencil freely. Underline key passages, check
important paragraphs and sections. Put your reactions, the meaning of the paragraph
to you, in the margin. Put a question mark where you do not fully grasp the
meaning after wrestling with it, so that you can raise them with friends and
the teacher later. For particularly importantant sections that you want to be
able to find readily at a later time, it is good procedure to jot down the page
and a reminder of the subject matter on one of the blank pages in the back of
the book. In this way you build up your own working index.

7. READING AND UNDERSTANDING

TO read A BOOKor article or assigned passage means to grasp
its basic meaning, the true essence of the work. This requires that you distinguish
what is of first importance from what is of minor importance in the contents.

In any book, or any chapter or section of a book, there are certain basic ideas
the author is trying to convey. They usually take the form of generalizations
or conclusions. For example, a book on the labor movement might make this assertion:
"The U.S. working class has a great heritage of militant struggle."
This is a generalization, one of the basic ideas the author wants to get across.

Either before or after such a generalization, the author will present a certain
amount of factual evidence or arguments in support of his assertion. An important
task of the reader is to single out the generalization or conclusion, to distinguish
between it and the factual evidence, illustrations, or arguments given in support.
Your first effort should be to try to see just what is the general idea
the author is trying to get over.

Once this is clear, you must examine the supporting facts or illustrations
to see whether they fully justify the author’s generalization or conclusion.
You should try to think of examples of your own which seem to support or contradict
the author’s assertion.

For example, the above statement about the militancy of the U.S. working class
may bring to mind supporting illustrations which you have experienced or read
about elsewhere. You may also think of illustrations which tend to contradict
the assertion, situations in which the working class did not act at all in a
militant manner.

Now you face a problem. It is not enough to say that "sometimes
the working class is militant and sometimes it is not," and let it go at
that. You must try to account for the facts which appear to contradict the author’s
generalization. In this example, you may consider the misleadership of the labor
movement at a particular time or place, or the influence of temporary prosperity
on the moods of workers, or other factors. These may account f or the situation
which apparently contradicts the author’s general statement, while leaving
intact the conclusion that "the U.S. working class has a great heritage
of militancy."

This effort to single out the author’s generalizations and
conclusions, and to examine them in the light of his supporting evidence and
your own experience, is the reader’s first task; but it is not enough. You must
also look for inferences, or lessons, which the author draws from his generalization.
This is especially important in reading Marxist literature.

For example, what further conclusions does the author draw
from his generalization that "the U.S. working class has a great heritage
of militancy?" Granting this is true, so what? What does this heritage
mean today? Reading on, you may find the author drawing the further conclusion
that, in the light of this militant heritage, the U.S. working class can, with
proper leadership, be depended on to struggle militantly for social progress
today—in time, to achieve its historic mission of establishing socialism. You
must train yourself to look for these over-all, "practical" inferences
or lessons based on previously stated generalizations. They abound in Marxist
literature.

The principal task of the student is to search out these central
ideas in the form of statements and make them his property. The central ideas
are the structure, the bones,of the section, chapter or book. The examples and
illustrations and arguments are the meat on the bones. You must get to know
the bone structure and must be able to put your own meat on it,in the
form of your own illustrative material from your own experience and knowledge.
In this way you will be able to master the meaning of the author.

8. AVOID PITFALLS

A COMMON ERROR of inexperienced students is to pay too much
attention to secondary matters, illustrations, etc., at the cost of not grasping
the real point the author is making. This error is what is commonly called "not
seeing the woods for the trees."

For example, Lenin’s Imperialism contains a wealth of
detailed data which support and illustrate his general conclusion that imperialism
is a new stage in the development of capitalism. It is quite easy for an inexperienced
reader to become lost in the maze of facts and figures and fail to grasp the
important conclusions.

Sometimes the author himself provides us with the means of
avoiding such mistakes. Either in an introduction, or the chapter-headings,
or perhaps in a summary, he tells us the plan of his book, its central theme,
or what are the main arguments put forward. Always look out for and take advantage
of such assistance.

In addition, you should get help from the teacher. He should
tell you what to look for in the assignments he makes. If your teacher does
not do this, you should remind him to do so.

The most successful reader is not the one who merely tries
to memorize the author’s conclusions, or remains satisfied with the illustrations
used by the writer. The good student will test the author’s conclusions against
his own knowledge and experience. He will search for alternative, or perhaps
supplementary illustrations to those used by the writer. He will ponder assertions
and conclusions that seem out of line with his experience, and will try to resolve
apparent contradictions.

This is the only path to a real grasp of theory. It is the
only way to master the living spirit of Marxism, and not merely the printed
word.

TAKING NOTES

NOTE-TAKING can become a valuable aid to learning and remembering. In addition
to using your pencil on the book itself, it is a good idea to have a notebook
or paper on the table to jot down those passages of special importance, or maybe,
those things which are not quite clear.

But most important in note-taking is tooutline the structure of the
book or chapter or section. This structure will be the conclusions as
they build up to the general, over-all conclusion of the text. Only the fundamental
ideas of the author should be outlined, not the illustrative materials.

It is a common mistake for beginners to take far too many notes, to copy out
whole paragraphs or even pages from the book. This very laborious method defeats
the whole purpose of note-taking, which is to put on paper the bare, basic essentials
of the subject. Certainly the mere act of copying from the book helps the reader
to memorize a certain amount of the material, but it does not help to develop
his powers of discrimination, his ability to distinguish what is of primary
importance from what is of secondary importance. Try therefore to restrict your
note taking to bare essentials.

For example, suppose you are studying the Negro Nation in Harry Haywood’s Negro
Liberation. A portion of your outline might be:

2. Negro people in "Black Belt" have all characteristics
of nationhood—are a nation.

The principle of this kind of note taking is that the notes
are set out in such a way that the distinction between principal headings and
sub-headings is clearly made. The distinction is further emphasized by the use
of different kinds of symbols: numbers for main headings and letters for sub-headings.

As can be seen, the ordinary rules of grammar are disregarded.
What has to be said is said in as few words as possible, and even these are
abbreviated, but not to the extent that they become unintelligible.

No skill, and certainly studying is no exception, is learned
over night. But by following the methods and hints in these few pages, and by
refining them and devising your own, you will without the slightest doubt make
great progress in learning the skill of studying and reading. You will be well
on your way to the mastery of Marxism.

THE LIBRARY

The Jefferson School Library is an important aid to study at
every level. Its collection—25,000 books and pamphlets and 200 current magazines
and newspapers from all over the worId—provide all the material you are likely
toneed for special projects or research as well as for study of current
assignments.

Equally important is the Library staff with its long experience
in assisting students in searching for special information.

Browsing through new and recent magazines, pamphlets and
books is animportant aspect of systematic study and the Library is the
place to do it.

The Library is open from noon till 10:00 weekdays (9:00 on
Fridays) and until 5:00 on Saturdays.

THE JEFFERSON BOOK SHOP

The Book Shop makes available for purchase by students and
the public the books, pamphlets and periodicals used in the classrooms. Also
available is a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction, the Marxist classics,
many of the standard classics, children’s books, literature of the Soviet Union
and the People’s Democracies, and selected recordings. Any book not in stock
may be ordered through the Book Shop.

Books and pamphlets will be mailed anywhere in the United States.

How to Study: A Guide for Students. Attributed to Harry K. Wells and
dated by internal evidence. New York: Jefferson School of Social Science, 1954.
Pamphlet, 16 pp.